The invention relates to a brake caliper of a disk brake for a utility vehicle.
The brake caliper, as part of a disk brake, serves essentially to receive functional parts required for the operation of the disk brake. These include, for example, an application device, which is arranged in a receiving chamber of the brake caliper, and brake pads, which are positioned on both sides of a brake disk and which are pressed against the brake disk during braking.
The two brake caliper halves which receive the functional parts, one of which forms a housing and other forms a caliper back, are connected to one another by tension braces, which furthermore absorb mechanical loads that occur during braking.
The application device mentioned includes a brake lever, which is covered over in relation to the external environment by a lever dome formed on the housing.
In addition to receiving the functional parts, the brake caliper also serves to protect them from the effects of weather and from dirt, especially since the brake disk is installed in an unprotected region of a vehicle rim, which is heavily exposed to dirt.
However, the brake caliper itself is subject to abrasive wear, particularly in certain areas, owing to its exposed position, leading ultimately to a reduction in the service life of the disk brake overall, especially since the brake caliper is designed as a casting and therefore the worn areas cannot be replaced.
Of course, this drawback is not acceptable, particularly from an economic point of view, especially since cast-iron brake calipers are designed for a significantly longer life than they actually achieve in practice due to the loading mentioned.
Moreover, said abrasive wear on the brake caliper can lead to a creeping reduction in the operational reliability of the disk brake since the tension braces, for example, are exposed to a considerable tensile loading, for which they are appropriately dimensioned.
In the case of wear-induced weakening of the tension braces, therefore, fracture may occur, making the entire disk brake incapable of functioning, with the resulting consequences, which do not need to be detailed.
It is the underlying object of the invention to develop a brake caliper of the type in question in such a way that its service life is optimized and the operational reliability of the disk brake overall is improved.
With very low outlay in terms of design and manufacture, the invention provides a brake caliper, the service life of which is no longer determined by factors extraneous to the system.
Although there is abrasive wear on the brake caliper, as before, it is only on the protective elements fitted, the positioning of which is known from practical experience.
Thus, in practice, it has been found that the areas of service-related wear, namely of abrasive wear, are found particularly on the tension brace which is on the leading edge, in relation to the rotating brake disk, and on the lever dome.
Corresponding protective elements are now provided here, and these are preferably designed as formed sheet metal parts and can be produced in a particularly simple manner by punching.
As a result, these protective elements can be provided at extraordinarily low cost, all that is required for fastening them being fastening means. Particularly suitable for this purpose are screws, which are screwed into prepared threaded holes in the tension brace and the lever dome.
In the case of a pneumatically actuated disk brake, a flange, on which a brake cylinder can be secured, is formed on the rear of the lever dome. This flange can also be used to fix the protective element, using the screws by which the brake cylinder is connected to the flange.
According to another concept of the invention, it is envisaged that protective elements on the tension brace should be designed in the manner of a plate-shaped stirrup with laterally formed fastening lugs, wherein this tension brace protector projects laterally outward over virtually the entire length of the tension brace.
The protective element for the lever dome, referred to as a lever dome protector, is preferably of horseshoe configuration and forms a stripper, e.g. for ice adhering to the rim, which would otherwise be stripped off by the lever dome, as is the case in the prior art.
In order to obtain protective elements with as long a life as possible, these are composed of a wear-resistant material, in particular an appropriate metal, wherein, as mentioned, these protective elements can be replaced when required at any time without major effort, thus ensuring that the brake caliper achieves the desired service life without problems, or at least without service-related external influences on the potential areas of wear.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.